Case Study

DANNY ELFMAN AT COACHELLA 2022

Electronic Countermeasures produced Danny Elfman’s Coachella set, combining works to showcase the artist's film scoring, Oingo Boingo, and Big Mess.

Due to COVID pandemic postponements, Black Ink Presents found themselves with film clips and screen content made in 2020, disjointed against the new songs created throughout 2021 that didn’t have anything slated for them. To collate content for a complete and consistent look, Electronic Countermeasures pitched a Notch workflow to fill the gaps.

With a focus on IMAG and video content combined for the stage design, Notch was used to bring coherence between the already existing content and turn the video effects (IMAG) into engaging content across all three screens for the new tracks.

To achieve this goal, the team designed animation from the beginning to be layered and integrated with live video. Spider-Man was a celebration of the orchestra, using silhouettes of individual instrumentalists playing the arrangement woven together with the live shots. LUTs and subtle reveals using alpha overlays made the pre-shot video feel as if it were live, but an effect that would have been impossible to achieve in the moment.

For songs such as Only a Lad by Oingo Boingo with no video content, the Notch Block was essential in creating the visual landscape and musically motivated changes. The goal was to create a look for each song that picked out the most fundamental vision of the content, tying in the IMAG’s look to match.

This kind of show couldn’t have been done without Notch. The ability to composite and manipulate footage so precisely in real-time is a game-changer for us. This was a complex show going into a festival environment; we knew coming into it that we wouldn’t have enough tech time or rehearsal time with cameras and lighting.

Kerstin Hovland, Co-Founder, Electronic Countermeasures

Additional press coverage:

Independent, GIZMODO, NME, Deadline.